Why Rhys Darby thinks AI can't do live stand-up comedy
‘A robot could never do what I can do on stage,’ the comedian tells Q’s Tom Power
When Rhys Darby started noticing the way AI had sunk its teeth into Hollywood, it got him thinking.
The New Zealand actor and comedian, who you might know from Flight of the Conchords, Yes Man or Our Flag Means Death, is back with his first new stand-up show in nearly a decade. It's called The Legend Returns and it sets out to prove that there's one thing robots can't do: live stand-up comedy.
"There's nothing more human, I think, than stripping down our humanity in front of each other's eyes and revealing it — revealing the pain of the human condition in a humorous way," Darby tells Q's Tom Power in an interview.
While Darby says he's already seeing AI replacing humans throughout several creative industries (for example, he's personally experienced a decline in voice work), he doesn't think the technology will ever be able to replicate "the human body on stage talking." That's why he's returned to performing live comedy.
"[AI] will never be able to experience what it feels to be a living human with a heart beating and a soul, most importantly," he says. "Everything that we do, especially in the arts, which is my arena, comes from the soul, comes from the heart, comes from the inner self that we can't explain, the consciousness."
But The Legend Returns is more than just an urgent message about the value of human creativity. It's a comedy show that's meant to entertain an audience.
"It really, ultimately, proves that perhaps a robot could never do what I can do on stage," Darby says. "It's me doing stand-up and then it turns into, essentially, a one-man play about me conquering the robots that are taking over the world…. And I do the story in a really silly way that is very Rhys Darby comedy. So it's physical, I do lots of sound effects, I jump around on stage, I play about four or five different characters having conversations with each other. It's the kind of stand-up I've always done, but this time it kind of has an important message."
You can catch The Legend Returns at Just For Laughs Montreal on July 24. The tour continues in the U.S. this fall.
The full interview with Rhys Darby is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. He also talks about getting his start on Flight of the Conchords. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Rhys Darby produced by Liv Pasquarelli.
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